


I Can't Imagine

by zcqb



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: AU, F/F, Fluff, Mentions of Death, University, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-06-06 06:23:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6742792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zcqb/pseuds/zcqb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“That’s just it,” Waverly admitted sheepishly. “I don’t think I can imagine being the same person I was before Champ.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling very exposed underneath Nicole’s piercing hazel eyes. </p>
<p>“I can’t imagine you being any more perfect than you are now,” Nicole replied with an ease that only seemed to come to her when speaking with Waverly. “So I wouldn’t worry.”</p>
<p>Or, the AU in which Waverly and Wynonna live in Toronto, and are just normal sisters with no revenants or curse. Waverly is a busy student studying Criminal Law and discovers her crush on her new TA - but the TA has a secret. Wynonna has fun with that TA’s future coworker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, this is my first fic I've ever submitted, though I've written several others. I really hope you guys enjoy this, it took me quite a while to find the time to write as I have exams but HEY I need a stress relief so here it is. This fanfic is mostly just going to be fluff as I'm still sad about Lexa - I'm planning on having some mentions of death but it's not going to be too traumatic, hopefully. I'm going to update about once a week, maybe more or less depending on my workload. Thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S. sorry if there are any errors, exams are exhausting
> 
> P.P.S. the formatting is a little weird and I do not know how to fix it so we're doing it anyways!

Waverly stood in the threshold of the doorway, watching her older sister slip into some leather pants that did not, in any way, shape, or form, look comfortable. “Are you sure you want to do all of this for some date?” Waverly asked, grimacing at the way the leather was stretching and sticking to Wynonna’s thighs.

 

“It’s worth it, okay?” Wynonna paused for a second to look at Waverly in frustration before returning to her unyielding pants. “Anyways, I don’t see you going on any dates recently. Maybe you’re not one to talk.”

 

Waverly scoffed and nodded her head. “I was going to help you, but if you’re going to be like that, then… then you can just get in those uncomfortable pants on your own,” She huffed, stomping away. She couldn’t help but feel that Wynonna was right, though. She hadn’t been on a date in quite a while. It wasn’t because she couldn’t, but because she didn’t want to. If she did want to, she could head on down to Shorty’s, put on her skimpiest top, and pick up any guy she wanted to. But Waverly didn’t want just any guy. She wanted something different.

 

Sighing, she slumped down onto their old, ratty couch and ran a hand through her hair. Maybe she should just go find some random date. Waverly definitely was a little snarkier than usual, that was for sure, but she figured that was just because school was getting tougher and with the popularity of Shorty’s bar growing, work was quickly becoming more demanding. Shorty needed her on more shifts and Waverly just couldn’t keep up. Just as she was convincing herself to start working on her essay due next week, Waverly heard a thud from the next room over, followed by a faint string of expletives. She rolled her eyes and got up.

 

“Are you sure you don’t need my help?” Waverly called out from the hallway. She really didn’t understand the appeal of leather pants, but she would help her sister no matter what.

 

“I’m fine, just - just go away,” Wynonna managed to yelp out, but it came out in more of a strangled whimper than a defiant refusal. Waverly barely made it into the room before nearly falling on the floor with laughter. Wynonna had, somehow, managed to get her arms stuck in the pants as well, making her a sort of deformed leather crab monster. “I was trying to pull them up from the inside, but I got sweaty.”

 

“C’mon, you dork, let me help you,” Waverly slowly tugged down at the hems of the pants, ignoring Wynonna’s sharp growls of pain. “I’m gonna take em off, and don’t even think about putting them back on.”

 

“Jeez, buy me a drink first,” Wynonna mumbled under her breath indignantly. As Waverly raised her eyebrow, Wynonna rolled her eyes and huffed. “Fine, I won’t put them back on, just help me, goddammit,” Waverly smiled and in one strong pull, the leather pants had come off to reveal Wynonna’s reddened legs. Wynonna inhaled sharply and curled up into a ball while Waverly did her best to gingerly remove them from her ankles.

 

“I’ll get you that drink,” Waverly offered, figuring she’d need it. Wynonna nodded slowly and, after getting up, moved to her closet looking dejected.

 

After Wynonna had put on a sensible pair of pants, Waverly slid the beer bottle to her sister over their kitchen island. “So who is this guy you’re going on a date with, anyway?” Waverly pressed, hoping to distract Wynonna from the pain that must have still been burning underneath her blue jeans.

 

“You don’t know him,” Wynonna responded, clearly not wanting to talk about this subject with her little sister. “Besides, even if you did, I bet you wouldn’t like him.” Waverly scoffed, as if the very idea of her disapproving of someone her sister dated was the craziest thing in the world. She moved to the couch and sat down quite forcefully, sending a cloud of dust into the air. They really needed a new couch.

 

“Now, why would you say that? You have the finest taste in men ever possessed by a single woman that history has ever seen,” Waverly mocked in an offended tone before coughing.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Wynonna rolled her eyes at her sister’s snark. “For your information, this guy isn’t that bad. He’s actually a police officer… or something.” She took a pause to take a swig of her beer, realizing that she didn’t actually know that much about the guy.

 

“Alright, well, go ahead and let the guy protect and serve you some drinks,” Waverly joked. “I’m just gonna have a wild night all by myself, don’t worry about me.” Wynonna shot Waverly a look of pity before wincing slightly.

 

“Netflix and a bottle of wine?” Wynonna asked gingerly. She knew that ever since Champ cheated on her with that co-ed, Waverly hadn’t been on a date for about 3 months now. In fact, Waverly hadn’t really been out with anyone, and that worried Wynonna. Waverly was supposed to be the popular one, and Wynonna was supposed to be the snarky badass with a secret heart of gold. Lately, the roles had been reversed, except Waverly was less of a badass and more like a stepped-on kitten.

 

“Yep,” Waverly sighed, knowing that every time she backed into her shell a little more, the harder it would be to get out. During High School, Waverly had tried so hard to be friendly to everyone, and despite being (admittedly) a massive nerd, she still had tons of friends due to her cheery disposition and likeable personality. Wynonna had tried her hardest to repel everyone and even did a stint in Juvie after their Dad died. But even then, Waverly didn’t turn into a recluse. This time was different; like everything was hitting her at once. Mom leaving, Dad dying, their Uncle recently passing away.

 

Champ cheating on her.

 

Waverly needed a break. She needed to go somewhere, or do something crazy, but she couldn’t find the motivation. Lately, getting out of bed was even getting tough. Going to classes was the only thing that made her happy, and even then it was hard to find a reason to go, because what if she ran into Champ, or heard someone talking about the ‘totally sick touchdown he made at Friday’s game,’ or saw the girl he cheated on her with try to send her a pity smile. Champ was the only constant Waverly had in her life since Junior year, and now he was gone, and all Waverly had left was Wynonna and a bottle of wine in the fridge that Waverly didn’t even like.

 

Waverly’s thoughts were broken by Wynonna planting a soft kiss on her sister’s forehead. She placed a bottle of wine and a glass down on the coffee table in front of Waverly. “I gotta go, sweet pea. You’re going to be okay right?” Wynonna asked with care. Waverly nodded before grabbing her phone and shaking it in the air.

 

“You text me on this, ok? I need to know that you’re okay,” Waverly’s tone suddenly got serious, making it clear that Wynonna needed to keep in contact. “You don’t know this guy. More importantly, _I_ don’t know this guy. He could be… a bad guy, okay? Just text me, please, and I’ll come pick you up.” Wynonna’s eyes flicked to the bottle of wine that she had just put down for her sister.

 

“Shorty’s is a block away, I’ll be fine. Just let me know,” Waverly said, confident in her ability to walk a few hundred yards after a bottle of wine. “Now go get some.” Wynonna fake-gagged at the thought of her sister encouraging her to have sex with some random stranger before opening the front door and waving goodbye to Waverly, leaving her in their empty apartment.

 

Alone.

 

-

 

Waverly was vaguely aware of the fact that there was drool completely covering her left cheek, but more aware of the buzzing coming from her stomach. Confused but happy, she didn’t remember getting her vibrator out - oh. It was her phone. Wynonna had spammed text messages in a panic, her date going completely wrong and needing Waverly to come rescue her. Drunk, tired, hungry (horny?), and filled with a sudden hatred of phones, Waverly groggily unlocked her phone and read the wall of text messages that lined her screen.

 

**(23:36) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Where are you??? Date went wrong. Police dude brought friend who is a girl. Maybe girlfriend.

 

**(23:41) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Waverly, I swear to god, come now

 

**(23:41) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I could be getting mugged and I would totally blame you

 

**(23:42) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I’m not getting mugged but I’m practically getting robbed of a great night here

 

**(23:45) Wynonna aka best sister:**

WAVERLY EARP GET YOUR DRUNK ASS OFF OF OUR COUCH

 

**(23:46) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Okay, I’m calling you.

 

**(23:46) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I don’t know why I thought that would work

 

**(23:47) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I’m in the bathroom and I don’t have much time before he thinks I’ve fled the state

 

**(23:47) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Waverly he is a police officer and he will find me and it will be awkward

 

Waverly could see that Wynonna was in the process of typing another text message, and before she could panic anymore, Waverly decided to start typing.

 

**(23:47) Waves:**

Hye. Dont u worry.sster is comn. it/ will be ok!1

 

It proved to be harder than she thought.

 

**(23:47) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Oh god ok you know what that’s ok you just stay there

 

**(23:47) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I’ll just deal with this

 

Waverly decided that wasn’t good enough, and with determination, she stood up from the couch before needing to lean on the armrest for support. She stumbled to the coat rack, picked up her coat, and with phone in hand she headed off to Shorty’s.

 

The cold air hit her like a slap to the face. Shorty’s was a 5 minute walk away for sober people, but for Waverly it was more like a 10 minute walk, during which she received several more text messages from Wynonna. Waverly couldn’t hear or feel them as she had 80s glam rock motivating her to keep walking forward blaring in her ears.

 

**(23:50) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Waverly? Don’t come

 

**(23:51) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Waverly I swear to god if you got hit by a car or a bicycle or a fucking jogger or something because of me I will be so mad

 

**(23:53) Wynonna aka best sister:**

I killed my sister didn’t I

 

**(23:55) Wynonna aka best sister:**

God your funeral is going to be so expensive

 

**(23:56) Wynonna aka best sister:**

There’s going to be like 70,000 people there. All of Toronto will show up for my baby sister who died from passing out and freezing to death while cuddling a mailbox, probably

 

Miraculously having dodged all of the ice patches on the sidewalk, Waverly reached the doors of Shorty’s completely ready to kick the ass of the guy who brought his girlfriend to a date with her big sister. Walking in, Waverly pushed the doors open in a flamboyant entrance (much to the surprise of Shorty, who wasn’t expecting to see Waverly until tomorrow, and was most certainly not expecting to see Waverly drunk off her ass and ready to fight) and scanned the bar for her sister. Once spotting her in a dark corner, Waverly audibly muttered ‘target spotted’ and began charging towards them.

 

“YOU.” Waverly pointed at the man sitting next to Wynonna who she could only assume was the scumbag of the hour. Stumbling and slurring, she managed to grab the shoulder of her sister, who was equal parts amused, surprised, mortified, and furious (this combination of emotions was not a new feeling for Wynonna). Waverly turned to the rather handsome man and pointed an accusatory finger in his face. “How dare you. How very dare you, sir. You come here, to my _sister_ , and you do this? How _dare you_. You better… explain yourself. Sir.” Waverly looked proud of herself and crossed her arms smugly to show it.

 

The man pointed to himself in a very confused manner and looked to Wynonna for answers. Wynonna grimaced and apologized before taking Waverly by the shoulders and spinning her around, driving her towards the unisex bathroom.

 

“Hey. Idiot who I love so dearly, check your fucking phone,” Wynonna spat through gritted teeth. Rolling her eyes, Waverly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and became more and more embarrassed as she read down the list of text messages.

 

**(23:58) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Hey, it’s ok!! Dolls (guy who I am out with) is actually super nice. Girl (Nicole? I think) was just waiting to meet someone and just happened to see Dolls outside the bar waiting for me.

 

**(23:58) Wynonna aka best sister:**

Girl didn’t show up so she’s just hanging out with us. Please, please tell me you’re not coming and you’ve checked your phone because you go to a good university and are a smart woman

 

**(00:00) Wynonna aka best sister:**

...You didn’t, did you

 

**(00:00) Wynonna aka best sister:**

If you walk in now the funeral is still happening

 

Waverly slowly looked up to Wynonna whose jaw was set and eyes were squinted in a way that Waverly knew meant murder.

 

“Sorry…?” Waverly tried to smile awkwardly and Wynonna groaned in a pure expression of frustration before hugging her sister in a tight embrace that made drunk Waverly very unsure of what was happening.

 

“I love you so much, you know that?” Wynonna spoke to Waverly’s shoulder. Waverly nodded hesitantly in response. “You haven’t gone out for anyone in months, and you do this for me, and I love you.” Wynonna paused for a few seconds before sighing and breaking the hug. “If this is what it takes for you to get out of the house, then by all means, go outside and embarrass me more.”

 

Waverly laughed and, feeling a little bit more sober, slung her arm around Wynonna’s shoulder before heading them out the door. “I’ll embarrass you all you want, that’s my duty as a little sister,” Wynonna turned and put a hand on Waverly’s shoulder to stop her.

 

“Wait. I really, really like this guy. He’s a little weird, but he’s actually nice, and he’s a little quiet, but Waves - he’s actually _nice_. I found a nice guy who likes me and I like him. So, embarrass me, but do it in a way that makes him like me, please?” Wynonna asked Waverly with such genuine worry that Waverly couldn’t help but nod emphatically. Walking out of the bathroom, Wynonna looked very vulnerable, something that Waverly didn’t see very often. Then again, Waverly didn’t rescue Wynonna often, either. It was usually the other way around. Waverly would be sobbing, crying into a pillow because she saw one of Champ’s socks while doing the laundry and suddenly all of the pain and the _hurt_ just came rushing back to stab her in the heart. Wynonna would be there with a pint of ice cream and a blanket ready to cheer her up.

 

And lighter fluid, so they could stand out in the parking lot and watch the sock burn.

 

The point was, Waverly rescued Wynonna this time. Or at least, she was going to, and that meant that Wynonna owed her. This wasn’t a position they found themselves in often. So now, Wynonna was asking _Waverly_ for help, and Waverly was prepared to be the best goddamn wingwoman in the entire world just for her big sister.

 

That was, until they reached their table and Waverly caught the eyes of Dolls’ friend and completely lost all track of everything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends, there was no WayHaught in this week's episode so I'm very sad but next week apparently will have Nicole Haught back in action! Also yay Waverly for being a feminist role model!! ("Pretty and smart are not mutually exclusive" yaaaaaaaaas)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks so much for all your comments and kudos, really makes a girl feel loved! If you wanna ask any questions or anything you can reach me at zcqb.tumblr.com :)

Waverly suddenly felt drunker than she had before. The world seemed to swim beneath her feet, like the floor was made of oceans that Waverly was just drifting in to get to her. Waverly stood there for a while, swaying slightly in the newfound intoxication that was quickly invading every single cell in her body and taking a deep root in her core. Wynonna gave Waverly a weird look and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the table.

“Okay, either you’re way drunker than I thought, or you’re secretly a Russian sleeper agent whose codeword was just triggered,” Wynonna joked, but the joke got no reaction from her sister, who simply sat down, put her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. She was staring intently at the redhead who was now becoming more and more uncomfortable. Wynonna snapped her fingers in front of Waverly’s face, who was suddenly stunned as if awakening from a trance. “Waves, c’mon, you’re freaking me out,”

“I’m just starin’,” Waverly slurred apologetically, trying to get the words out at the same rate her mind was going, which didn’t seem to work very well. “N’ I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself to your new friends. I’m Waverly, Wynonna’s drunk sister,” Waverly seemed absolutely mortified that she forgot to introduce herself, as if it was the rudest thing in the world.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Waverly,” Dolls spoke first after a small pause which was long enough to make it awkward but short enough for Nicole to laugh. Waverly smiled, thinking it was a nice laugh.

“That’s a nice laugh,” Waverly had lost all semblance of a filter. At least before, she was sort of thinking before she spoke, but being flustered threw that out of the window. “I mean, pretty laugh. Like your eyes-”

“Okay, maybe I should take this one home,” Wynonna smiled at Dolls and Nicole but there was a faint sense of annoyance behind her smile. Wynonna tried to hoist Waverly out of the seat from her armpits, but Waverly began pouting.

“But I just got here! I could’ve died walking here you know,” Waverly protested, clamping her biceps down on Wynonna’s fingers and rooting herself in her stool. “What happened to, ‘don’t mess this up Waverly, I like him so much-’”

“Yes, what did happen to ‘don’t mess this up’, Waverly?” Wynonna asked through her clenched jaw. Dolls cracked a faint hint of a smile and Nicole laughed again, causing Waverly to break out into a fit of giggles, which only made Nicole laugh harder. Dolls remained unaffected. “Either way, you have to get home,”

“Uh, if I may?” Nicole took a pause from laughing to speak up. “I can take her home, it’s no trouble.” She smiled warmly at Wynonna as if to try and convince her that she wasn’t going to mug Waverly on the way home.

“Yes! Nicole can take me home,” Waverly seemed excited at the idea, somehow remembering her name from Wynonna’s text messages. Waverly took hold of Nicole’s hand which was laying on the bar table - it looked so grabbable to Waverly that she just couldn’t resist. “C’mon, you’re gonna take me to bed,” Waverly winked, but it came off as more of a fluttery blink. In her mind’s eye, however, Waverly was the suavest girl ever.

“Okay, fine. But she has to go to bed, don’t let her convince you to watch Netflix or anything because that’ll just turn into you getting drunk and, while fun, Waverly is more dangerous than she looks,” Wynonna spoke hesitantly. She still wasn’t sold on the idea, but hey - she expected to spend time alone with Dolls tonight anyways. Waverly was already going to be drunk, at least now she had a friend.

“I’ll have her in bed as soon as possible,” Nicole spoke, before smirking at the implications of what she said. Still holding Waverly’s hand, Nicole hopped off of her stool and reached out a hand to help Waverly down. “Here, I’ll help you get off,” Nicole continued with her innuendo before laughing slightly as Waverly blushed hard.

Waverly wasn’t expecting her to flirt back. Waverly wasn’t even expecting to flirt in the first place, but it happened, and she wasn’t opposed to it. A little harmless flirting never hurt anyone, right? But if it was so harmless, why was Waverly having trouble getting her words out and why couldn’t she stop staring at Nicole?

“Uh - thank you, for helping me get off,” Waverly jumped down and accidentally stumbled forward into Nicole’s arms. They were nice arms, she thought to herself, and her filter somehow let that one through too. “You have nice arms,” Waverly mumbled into Nicole’s jacket, which smelled nice. _Nicole_ smelled nice. “And you sm-”

“Alright, everything in order?” Wynonna grabbed Waverly’s shoulders as if she was checking her toddler on her first day of Kindergarten. “Keys? Phone? Wallet?” Wynonna asked. Waverly lazily nodded her head, which was really more her lolling her head back and forth like a bobblehead getting a little tired of its job.

“Love you,” Waverly embraced her sister in a loose hug. She smiled into her sister’s leather jacket. “Don’t wear leather pants,” Waverly added, whispering coarsely into Wynonna’s ear as if it was important information she had to to remember.

“Okay, I won’t,” Wynonna laughed, widening her eyes at Nicole as if to say, ‘you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into’. “Love you too, now go home and sleep.”

Waverly clapped her sister’s shoulder and grabbed Nicole’s hand once again. “Lead the way, cap’,” Waverly slurred, saluting with her free hand and almost hitting herself in the eye. Nicole laughed again and Waverly revelled in the sound like it was a ray of sunshine in the dead of winter.

Hand in hand, they walked out of the bar while Waverly waved goodbye excitedly to Shorty who looked equally as confused as he did before.  
Nicole reached into her jacket pocket to grab her car keys. Nicole hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol all night; she had work tomorrow. She came out tonight to meet Waverly - although she had planned for it to go a bit differently. She saw Waverly from when she worked behind the bar, and thought she might go in and say hi, thinking (hoping) she was working tonight. The truth was, Waverly was completely and utterly gorgeous, and Nicole knew she at the very least wanted to introduce herself. She didn’t expect to have her drunk in her arms and she certainly didn’t expect to be flirting shamelessly with the brunette, but she also wasn’t complaining.

“Oh, I live like a block away,” Waverly pulled Nicole away from her car, which was a pretty new model that looked quite expensive. “We don’t have to drive.”

“It’s cold, and as much as I like the idea of you needing me for warmth, I’m gonna drive home afterwards anyway,” Nicole shrugged. Frankly, she was a little scared of Waverly getting hurt, as now she seemed drunker than before and her shoes were scuffing against the concrete. “It’s not a problem.” The two stared at each other for a second, before Nicole pulled Waverly towards her, opened the door, and helped her in.

“So, where do you live?” Nicole asked, turning the key into the ignition and feeling the satisfying rumble of the engine roaring to life beneath her. She turned to face Waverly, who was already staring at her as if she was completely smitten with the redhead. Nicole smiled as Waverly opened her mouth to speak.

“Just down the road, I’ll tell you when we get there,” Waverly answered, not taking her eyes off of Nicole’s - although Nicole thought she saw her eyes flicker down to her lips for a split second. Nicole swallowed and nodded, managing to tear her eyes away from Waverly’s. They were brown, like hers, but possessed a simultaneously alluring and puppy-dog like quality that could bring Nicole down to her knees in a second.

In many ways.

Nicole pressed her foot to the gas pedal. Before she knew it, Waverly was signalling for her to stop, and Nicole turned into the parking lot. Waverly smiled, thanked Nicole for the ride, and moved to open the door before Nicole could help her. Waverly’s hand ended up slipping on the door handle but her body was still moving forward to lean out of the car, so her head banged the window pretty hard. Nicole quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and moved forward to inspect the damage, immediately becoming concerned when she saw Waverly shaking. She felt wet lines down her cheeks and gingerly moved Waverly’s face to face hers, but was surprised when she saw Waverly smiling and laughing so hard she wasn’t making any noise.

“Nicole,” Waverly tried to breathe but couldn’t quite manage to make it. “I hit my head,” Waverly giggled and continued laughing, leaving Nicole amused but still very concerned. “And do you know what the worst part is?”

Nicole shook her head, not knowing what could be worse than embarrassing yourself quite badly in front of a girl that you were (at least, in Nicole’s eyes) trying to impress.

“I forgot my fucking keys,” Waverly managed to breathe out in between laughs. Nicole began laughing then, remembering the way that Wynonna had even made a point to ask her if she had her keys. They were laughing hard together, with Waverly’s head on Nicole’s shoulder (her nice shoulder, just like her nice arms) and Nicole’s hand still tucked behind Waverly’s ear from when she was inspecting her for damage.

Their laughing came to a slow stop and Waverly looked up at Nicole. With Nicole’s hand in her hair, it would be so easy for Waverly to just lean in and kiss her, but panic set in at the root of her stomach at the thought of trusting someone like that again. Even something small like this. Waverly already had feelings, and this was dangerous territory. Waverly pulled away quickly, leaving Nicole concerned.

“Hey, are you ok?” Nicole asked hurriedly. “Should I call your sister?” She asked, before realizing that she didn’t have Wynonna’s number. She could always go back, but she didn’t really want to leave Waverly alone, and she also didn’t want to drag Waverly out of the car drunk and possibly concussed.

“No, it’s okay,” Waverly lied. She didn’t really know how to explain that she was worried that she’d fall in love with Nicole and then Nicole would cheat on her and suddenly she’d be left alone and betrayed again and again. So she just lied. “I don’t know how I’m going to get inside my house.”

“We could go back and get your sister,” Nicole suggested. She started thinking of a solution, and while a little worried to suggest it, it seemed like the best idea. “But I don’t know, I’m going to have to stay with you anyway, and I don’t want to take your sister away from her hot date, so…”

Waverly’s heart fluttered underneath her chest. “What are you suggesting?” She asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I come back to your place?” Nicole paused, then nodded slowly, opening her mouth to speak.

“Yes. But, totally platonically - I mean, you’re drunk and I’m…” Nicole’s voice trailed off, wanting to say more, but decided against it. “I’m sober.” She finally settled on lying. She didn’t want to say the real reason. Telling Waverly that she had just moved to Toronto because of what happened five months ago was not something Nicole wanted to do, even though Nicole felt more comfortable around Waverly than anyone else here she had met so far.

“Right,” Waverly swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling drier than usual. “Who said I wanted anything other than platonic, anyway?” She teased, laughing at Nicole’s subsequent embarrassment. Nicole turned the key in the car, starting the ignition up once more, and after a lull in the conversation Waverly quickly fell asleep.

-

“Drink the water, Waverly.” Nicole’s amused tone of voice egged Waverly on, who was unwilling to drink anything other than champagne.

“C’mon, I saw it in your fridge, let’s celebrate!” Waverly pleaded. Waverly was sitting on Nicole’s bed, and Nicole was planning on sleeping on the couch. Nicole had gone to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and in the meantime Waverly had somehow taken off her pants and found a bottle of champagne. Nicole didn’t even know she had champagne.

“What exactly are we celebrating?” Nicole asked, bemused but tired. She really did have to go to bed, training for her new job started in the morning, and in two days she started the real thing. “Waverly, drink.” Nicole grabbed Waverly’s hand and placed the cup of water in it, bringing it to her lips and giving Waverly a look that said, ‘drink this or I’ll make you drink it’. Finally, Waverly took a sip of the water, and upon discovering that she actually was thirsty, downed the entire cup in about 5 seconds. Nicole nodded and got up to get her another glass.

“We’re celebrating new friendship,” Waverly responded a few seconds later, as if having given the answer some considerable thought. She didn’t really know what she wanted to celebrate, but she knew that the need to celebrate was there. Nicole was new, and good, and Waverly just had a warm feeling in her stomach about her. Waverly watched her as she walked to the en-suite bathroom. “I’m celebrating you.”

“You’re celebrating me?” Nicole laughed, unsure of what that meant, but rolling with it anyway. “Then I’ll celebrate you.” She ran herself a glass of water, bringing both to the bed, and handing one to Waverly. She raised her glass in one hand, holding Waverly’s free hand in the other, and gestured for Waverly to toast.

“To new friendships,” Waverly spoke softly.

“To new friendships,” Nicole repeated. Waverly finished her second glass of water, and Nicole had barely even started on hers, so she replaced Waverly’s empty glass with her own full glass of water and smiled at Waverly. “Good night, Waverly.” Waverly smiled back, her eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy as her head fell back against Nicole’s pillow. She felt the sudden urge to speak, to ask Nicole to stay, but decided against it as she watched Nicole walk away.

“Good night, Nicole,” Waverly replied, and Nicole turned off the light.

Falling asleep, both were completely unaware that each one had the same thoughts running through their heads: _shit_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waverly finds out some things about Nicole that she won't forget.  
> Waverly and Wynonna share a moment.
> 
> Thanks for all the love you guys <3 hope you enjoy this chapter, it took me a while

Waverly awoke to a dark room, a faint buzzing sound vibrating against her ass. This time, she knew it was her phone, and she peeled it from her bare ass rather uncomfortably. She let out an audible ‘fuck’ as she realized that it was one in the afternoon and she had 14 messages and 6 missed calls from Wynonna.

**(01:55) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Where are you? Apartment is empty

**(01:55) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
I mean I appreciate you leaving it empty so Dolls and I could get freaky, but you know I don’t do that on the first date

**(01:58) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Well, there was that one time. But that was one time.

**(02:01) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Ok, maybe three times

**(02:13) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Hellooooo? Waverly Earp? Calling you now

**(03:34) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
I fell asleep waiting for you to come home and you’re still not here, I’m worried, calling again

**(04:53) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
I fell asleep again but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you

**(07:26) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Ok Dolls called me and he says that Nicole didn’t have my number but you’re at her place? Waverly, you need to explain

**(07:26) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
Spare the details please but she’s a stranger and idk she could hurt you. She has guns, she works for the police

**(07:34) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
She probably has guns. I don’t know for sure. She seems like the type of person who would probably own guns.

**(10:07) Wynonna aka best sister:**  
I’m operating under the assumption that you’re probably safe and fine and just sleeping like a lazy ass and not shot by an intern at a police station

  
The rest of the messages were just asking Waverly when Wynonna should pick her up and where. Waverly felt a warm sensation creep across her chest at her sister’s concern. Wynonna hadn’t been around for a lot of the shitty times in Waverly’s life, but she was making up for it now, and Waverly couldn’t fault her for that. So she was a little protective, but Waverly was just as protective of Wynonna, and they needed to stick together. Waverly quickly texted Wynonna back to ensure her that she was safe, and decided to start getting up.

Looking around the room, Waverly could just barely make out a very modern-looking bedroom. From what she could tell, everything was incredibly neat and organized. She reached over the bedside table to turn on the lights, but instead managed to raise the mechanic curtain that covered Nicole’s bedroom window. Her breath was taken away by the incredible view of downtown Toronto that sprawled out before her. She must have been at least twenty floors up, and she knew that a condo like this could not have been cheap.

Locating her pants, Waverly got dressed quickly, wanting to get something to eat as soon as possible. She didn’t have much of a hangover, as she was still young enough to have a pretty strong tolerance for alcohol, but she was starved. With the room being much brighter, Waverly could fully take in the room - very few pictures lay scattered around the room, but those that did featured Nicole with brown hair and people who Waverly assumed to be her family. The rustic frames and slightly dinged up edges made the pictures seem slightly out of place in the modern bedroom, but Waverly appreciated the personal touch to the otherwise sleek aesthetic.

She didn’t mean to be poking around, it sort of just happened subconsciously. Certain things would jump out at her, like the way that certain books on Nicole’s bookshelves seemed to have much more wear than others, or the way that Nicole seemed to live in the apartment as little as possible. If there ever was a personal space as impersonal as this, Waverly had yet to see it and doubted she ever would. There seemed to be no real character to the apartment, like it was decorated by a depressed robot. Waverly spotted a few unopened moving boxes tucked away in the corner of the kitchen, noticing that there was barely anything for cooking and mostly just plates and cutlery. She felt sorry for Nicole, and made a note to try and be a friend as much as possible to her.

Or more than a friend.

Waverly mentally scolded herself at the thought and knew that Nicole was lonely. Nicole didn’t need someone who was damaged and not ready for anything serious to come in and mess up her life. On top of that, even though they were flirting pretty heavily last night, Waverly wasn’t even sure if Nicole liked girls, and she wasn’t just going to ask her outright. Waverly had university, and work, and Wynonna and bills and stress, and she didn’t need to add more stress on by complicating something that could be uncomplicated.

Despite all this, Waverly still knew that she had wanted to kiss Nicole last night, and that wasn’t just because of the alcohol.

After having fixed her messy hair and washing her face (she hadn’t bothered to put on makeup last night since she didn’t think she was going to meet anyone), Waverly got ready to leave. Wynonna was going to pick her up, and Waverly was already beginning to dread the conversation they were going to have on the way home. Wynonna was inevitably going to ask questions, and Waverly wasn’t sure what the answers were going to be. Did she like Nicole? Yes. Was she going to do anything about it? No, because they just met last night and Waverly barely knew anything about her. And then there was the question that Waverly didn’t want to know the answer to.

Did Nicole like Waverly?

Waverly told herself it was probably best to stop thinking about it so much. Now, she was starting to get a headache, and it wasn’t because she drank so much. Truth be told, she was already sobering up in Nicole’s car. Every action taken after that point was questionable as to whether it was because she was drunk or not. Waverly took one last look at the apartment before leaving, and noticed a little piece of paper on the hallway table. On the outside, in neat handwriting, it read ‘Open Me’. The paper was folded halfway, and looked as though it had already been opened. So, Waverly read it, expecting it to be for her from Nicole.

Dear Nicole,

I know it’s been a while since I sent you anything. I’m sorry for that. You need to know that I’m okay. I need to know that you’re okay. I know that’s not fair after what happened, but I still love you, despite what you might think. I heard from your parents that you live in Toronto now. I hope I got the address right. I’m coming up there for work in a few months. Maybe I’ll see you?

Love,  
Sara

Waverly only noticed now that the date at the top was from a few days ago. The edges were frayed slightly from wear, as if either Sara had spent a long time writing it, or Nicole had spent a long time reading it. Waverly’s heart dropped and suddenly she understood why the apartment was so bleak. She immediately felt a sense of solidarity with Nicole - she had been cheated on, and so had Waverly. She knew exactly how it felt, and felt a sudden urge to hug Nicole, and be there for her, just as a friend. She assumed that she had been cheated on, because why else would Sara send a letter like this?

Waverly placed the letter back as close to how she had found it as possible. She didn’t want Nicole to know that she knew, because she didn’t want Nicole to think Waverly was the type of person who went through other people’s mail. At the same time, she wanted to ask Nicole about it. If Nicole had been hurt this bad, Waverly felt the urge - no, the obligation - to comfort her. The worst part was, she didn’t even know Nicole’s phone number, so she couldn’t ask her to lunch or anything. Waverly decided to write a little note with her phone number and a short message asking her to lunch as a thank you/apology for taking care of drunk Waverly.

The day was an unseasonably warm day. The sun was out, and the ground was wet with snowmelt. Waverly smiled as she walked out of the condo’s foyer (which was pretty much all marble, glass, and brass - the telltale sign of upperclass living) and saw her sister standing there with her motorbike behind her.

“Well, hello there,” Wynonna smiled, her helmet resting neatly in her arms. Wynonna took such good care of her bike that it was hard to imagine that the same woman who, just the other day, knocked over a beer and didn’t clean it up for four hours until Waverly got home was the same woman who cared for an inanimate object as if she had birthed it from her loins. Even now, Wynonna was standing in front of her bike as if she was a lioness protecting her cubs. “If it isn’t my slutty little sister who sleeps with strange women from bars the night she meets them!” Waverly rolled her eyes and cocked her head to the side indignantly. After reading the letter and having an inner turmoil over her feelings for Nicole, Waverly was in no mood to talk about this with her sister. Especially not if Wynonna was under the impression that Nicole and Waverly had slept together.

“One, I didn’t sleep with her,” Waverly paused for dramatic effect, watching as her sister scoffed in disbelief. “And two, she’s not a strange woman. For your information, Nicole is very nice.”

“Oh, I’ll bet she’s very nice,” Wynonna smirked, climbing onto the bike seat slowly but expertly. “And you’re on a first name basis, I’m impressed. That’s more than I get from my one night stands.” Waverly climbed on behind her and placed her hands on Wynonna’s waist steadily. Waverly had ridden on the back of Wynonna’s bike several times before, and while she trusted Wynonna to protect them (well, it was more that she trusted Wynonna to protect her bike), she was still afraid of traffic and vehicles.

After all, that was how their dad had died, with Wynonna and Waverly in the car.

Wynonna seemingly didn’t have any lasting trauma. At least, she didn’t show it. Wynonna was older, and remembered much more of it. Waverly could only remember snippets. Both were lucky to have been able to walk away with minor scrapes and bruises, but they didn’t feel very lucky. No injury could have hurt more than losing their father.

“Well, it’s more because we _didn’t sleep together_ ,” Waverly hissed at Wynonna, who seemed to get the message and backed off quickly. “And I’m getting pretty tired of the jokes, alright?”

“Alright, I’m sorry,” Wynonna apologized rather defensively. A few seconds passed where Waverly was just waiting for Wynonna to defend herself, but she didn’t speak up. Waverly sighed and wanted to apologize, but Wynonna kicked the motorcycle into action before she could.

They spent the rest of the ride back home in silence.

-

Waverly walked into their apartment feeling rather tense. The unsaid feelings still loomed in the air above them like toxic gas. As soon as Wynonna entered the apartment, Waverly opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Wynonna.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made those jokes, they were stupid and insensitive and I wasn’t thinking about how they would make you feel,” Wynonna apologized quickly, the words tumbling out of her mouth faster than Waverly could process them. “After Champ and everything I know it wouldn’t be like you to sleep with someone so quick - hell, it wouldn’t be like you to sleep with someone that quick under normal circumstances. So I’m sorry for being an asshole.” Wynonna sat down on the armrest of their couch, ignoring the creaking protests that groaned out from underneath her.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you, I know you were just making jokes, and it was uncalled for,” Waverly apologized as well. Waverly felt like they had always had a good relationship, strengthened by the fact that they were able to apologize and forgive. Waverly knew so many families who couldn’t admit fault, and felt lucky that she had no problem doing that with Wynonna. “I forgive you. I’m sorry, I’ve just had kind of a bad day.” Waverly admitted, knowing that once she mentioned it, Wynonna wasn’t going to stop until her sister felt better.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Wynonna immediately forgave her sister, stepping forward off of the couch to embrace her in her arms. “What’s up, sugar butt?” Wynonna asked her sister endearingly. Waverly sighed, unsure where to start.

“Alright, so, last night, Nicole and I were flirting,” Waverly started, her face still resting on Wynonna’s shoulder. Waverly had to raise the heels of her feet slightly just to reach this level, but she was managing. “And it was harmless, or so I thought. Now, I don’t know.”

Wynonna took a step back, breaking the hug. “Well, do you like her?” She asked.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t think I’m ready for that,” Waverly admitted. “But she’s certainly different.” Wynonna smiled and nodded understandingly.

“Well, then, I wouldn’t really worry,” Wynonna said. Waverly motioned for her to continue when Wynonna left it there. “I mean, you’re not ready, and you guys have met once, so why not just be friends?” Waverly nodded and opened her mouth to speak.

“Yeah, I know, but there was all sorts of weird sexual tension and I wanted to kiss her so badly and I wanted her to sleep next to me last night,” Waverly rambled. She was letting her sister know more than she wanted to let her know, but it didn’t bother Waverly. She had no idea how much she needed to get this off her chest. “And this morning I found a letter and I thought it was to me and it wasn’t and it was from her ex-girlfriend and she cheated on her and she was sorry and I feel so bad for Nicole, and I know she doesn’t need me and-”

“Waverly, you need to slow the fuck down,” Wynonna shook her head, taking her sister’s hands into hers. Waverly only now realized how wildly she had been gesticulating during her rant. “The letter and the ex-girlfriend are not your business, and you need to worry about yourself for now. Be a friend to Nicole, make sure you’re both happy first, and then you can worry about your feelings.” Waverly smiled, grateful for her sister’s wisdom.

“Where would I be without you?” Waverly leaned her head into her sister’s shoulder.

“Probably much more successful and happy,” Wynonna joked. Waverly laughed softly into her leather jacket. “Jokes aside, I’m glad I could help.” Waverly gasped when she realized what an ass she had been. She quickly jumped up and placed her hands on her cheeks in surprise, leaving Wynonna confused.

“Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to ask you how your night went,” Waverly remarked apologetically. “I’m so sorry, I was just focused on me. You’re the one who actually had a date last night and I completely forgot.”

“It’s fine, it went great,” Wynonna smiled, laughing slightly at her sister’s completely unnecessary worry. It hadn’t been the most amazing date ever, but it certainly wasn’t bad. By Wynonna’s standards, it was actually pretty damn good. “Dolls was sweet and we talked for a few hours, then he brought me home and kissed me on the cheek.” Wynonna blushed slightly remembering how courteous he had been, but hid it by pretending to scratch her face with her jacket shoulder. She would never in a million years admit to blushing.

“Well that’s just adorable,” Waverly teased, but there was a very obvious love shining through her words. She was clearly happy for her sister. “I approve.”

“Thank God,” Wynonna rolled her eyes in mock relief. “You didn’t approve of all of my exes and that was what totally broke us up.”

“Believe what you want, Wynonna,” Waverly smirked, remembering all of the ex-boyfriends that she had immediately refused to let Wynonna see simply because of the feeling she got around them. She turned to leave the living room, walking towards her bedroom to get some rest. “But I swear I’m psychic or something. I just get a good feeling about this guy.”

“I believe you,” Wynonna chimed, feeling the exact same way.

Waverly waved a short goodbye to her sister, retreating into her room rather exhaustedly from the emotional turmoil of letting all her feelings out. She felt liberated, though, like a weight had been lifted (as cliché as that sounded). She closed the door behind her and flopped onto her bed exasperatedly.

Waverly could reflect on what she had discussed with her sister. Or, she could ignore it completely and just hope it all goes smoothly. Nothing could really make this more complicated, so why complicate it by overthinking things? Overthinking could only add more drama, more components to the tangled mess this already was. Waverly opted for the latter and reached for her laptop.

Nicole’s name was still on Waverly’s mind. It seemed like it was on the tip of her tongue, waiting to jump out - in this case, it was on the tip of her fingers, spelling her name out into Facebook’s search bar. Waverly contemplated searching for her, before realizing that she had no idea what Nicole’s last name was. Probably something rich, she figured. Waverly poked her head out of her doorway, spotting Wynonna still sitting on the armrest of their couch, but this time smiling like a dope at her phone. Dolls was probably texting her poems that he had made overnight, Waverly thought.

“Hey, what’s Nicole’s last name?” Waverly asked quickly, hoping to catch her sister off-guard before she could ask any questions.

“Uh, Haught, I think,” Wynonna replied, not looking up from her phone. “Wait, why do I know that? More importantly, why are you asking me? You’re not Facebook stalking her, are you?” Wynonna’s head snapped up from her phone upon her realization. She stepped up from her perch and began walking towards Waverly threateningly.

“I’m just curious,” Waverly began backing away slowly into the safety of her room.

“Waverly, don’t overcomplicate things,” Wynonna warned her sister, before deciding against a lecture and instead headed into the kitchen. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Wynonna called out to Waverly, who was now laying on her bed excitedly, ready to stalk Nicole’s Facebook.

She typed 'Nicole Hot' into the search bar, receiving nothing. _Who doesn’t have a Facebook?_ Waverly shook her head, not believing that someone in 2016 could go without social media. She immediately began brainstorming other forms of ‘Hot’. _Hott? No, then ‘Hot’ would have autocompleted to Hott. Hought?_ Waverly quickly tried that. Nothing. _Okay, not Hought… Haught?_ She typed ‘Nicole Haught’ into the search bar, and was rewarded with a little square of Nicole’s pretty dimples and chestnut hair next to her name and location. _So I was right afterall, her name is rich. Nicole is pretty haughty._ Waverly laughed at her own joke.

Silently cheering, Waverly clicked on her profile and immediately began stalking. Her job was at the police station, okay, she knew that. Place of birth was Montréal. Relationship status was single (at this, Waverly was a little ashamed to feel relief, despite already knowing the answer). Birthday was July 27th; pretty soon. Waverly clicked on her profile picture, which had several comments from people who were expressing surprise and adoration for Nicole’s new hair color. It seemed weird to Waverly, who hadn’t known Nicole without it, only seeing her natural hair color in pictures. She clicked further, noticing a sizeable gap between profile pictures, and Nicole seemingly talking to herself in some comment sections. Waverly’s heart fell as she realized that the periods between pictures were most likely populated with pictures of Nicole and Sara, and the comments were likely Sara’s deleted comments. She knew because she had done the same thing with Champ.

Nicole was certainly pretty. Waverly couldn’t find a single picture in which she wasn’t gorgeous. Her newer pictures were even more jaw-dropping than her older ones, though. They seemed to show her being more confident, taking better angles and using light more effectively. There were only three, all having been uploaded within the last six months. Waverly figured that was her trying to show Sara she was fine without her. Waverly knew, because she had done the same thing with Champ.

Waverly clicked away from her profile pictures, suddenly feeling discomfort. Her mouse pointer hovered over sending Nicole a friend request, when for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past twenty-four hours, Waverly’s phone buzzed against her ass. She picked it up quickly, seeing several Whatsapp messages from an unknown number.

**(14:55) +416 555-2147:**  
Hey, it’s Nicole, I got your number from the note you left :)

**(14:55) +416 555-2147:**  
I’m done work if you want to hang out

**(14:55) +416 555-2147:**  
There’s this new place that opened up down my street, we can have dinner :)

Waverly was surprised. She was mostly surprised that Nicole sent so many emojis. She didn’t figure Nicole as the type of person who would do that, but she found it cute. Waverly debated sending a text back so quickly, for fear of seeming desperate, but then realized that that was stupid because they weren’t in middle school anymore. She decided to text her back. She didn’t really know what to say, but in the end her fingers seemed to move without consulting her brain first.

**(14:55) Waves:**  
I’m down. Meet me at 6:30 at my place?

**(14:56) +416 555-2147:**  
So early? It’s a Saturday, you know. :P

Waverly was putting in Nicole’s contact information when she got the text. She wasn’t sure whether she should put emojis in Nicole’s contact name. She settled on putting a little smile behind ‘Nicole’.

**(14:56) Waves:**  
6:30 is a good time for me. I’m working tonight and I need to get to work at around 11.

**(14:56) :) Nicole:**  
Fair enough :) I’ll pick you up at 6:30 then. Don’t worry about dressing fancy, just wear your usual stuff :)

**(14:56) Waves:**  
It’s a date!

Waverly immediately regretted sending that text, but she had already sent it. She could see Nicole start to type, before the little ‘ _typing…_ ’ notification went away. Waverly sighed and crumpled onto her pillow, knowing that she had probably said too much, and maybe freaked Nicole out a little bit. A few minutes passed of Waverly fretting over the text message, before a familiar buzz sounded out from underneath her butt.

**(15:01) :) Nicole:**  
It’s a date ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible person who doesn't know how to upload regularly but I needed about a month of rest after IB and I finally got it so here goes!! Hope u enjoy. It's a bit of a filler but I hope it's enough. Also, damn, that finale!! Let's hope for season 2 eh :)

Waverly was running around the room as if her hair was on fire and the right outfit was the only bucket of water around for a hundred miles. Wynonna stared at her quizzically from the doorway, her arms crossed and her mouth agape.

“What the hell has you in this mood?” Wynonna asked in disbelief that this was happening. “Literally three hours ago you were practically crying on my shoulder.”

“Nicole asked me out to dinner,” Waverly replied with her best attempt at sounding casual. To her credit, she sounded about as casual as someone could while pacing the room constantly and kneading her hands together.

“Oh, well, that explains it,” Wynonna nodded as if that was the most logical explanation in the world. “Drop everything and stop the presses.”

“Wynonna, normally I love your snark, but now is really not the time,” Waverly turned to face her sister and hoped her desperation was evident. She needed Wynonna - she had much more dating experience than Waverly, who hadn’t been on a date since Champ and her started dating. “I need something that says, ‘hey, I’m totally not crushing on you, but I want to let you know that I’d be open to the idea of you possibly crushing on me, and then we’ll see where this goes.’”

Wynonna’s eyes widened and she exhaled deeply. She nodded, stepping into the room, accepting her fate as Waverly’s personal dresser for the evening. She peered around Waverly’s closet, which was much more colorful than her own, and picked the most casual clothing she could. She held out a simple red and white plaid shirt, a tight black sweater, and black skinny jeans, gesturing for Waverly to take them. Waverly responded by giving Wynonna a look that said ‘really?’

“Out of all my clothes, all the nice colorful personality-filled clothes in my closet, you pick literally the most boring, lifeless clothes I have?” Waverly asked, shaking her head, but still taking the clothes.

“Hey, you asked me for help,” Wynonna replied, smirking smugly. “Besides, you haven’t been on a date in a while, and I have. A very successful date, might I add.” Waverly fake gagged at Wynonna’s happy expression, earning her a light punch on the arm from Wynonna.

“Fair enough. Fine. But please, a little more… me?” Waverly struggled to find the words. She didn’t really know what she was going for when she said ‘me’, because she wasn’t sure which version of herself she was going to be for Nicole. It troubled her that thinking things like that was so quick for her to jump to, but it had been such a useful defense mechanism in the past few years that she was far past questioning it. Wynonna simply stuck her head back into Waverly’s closet and dug around in search for the perfect outfit.

Waverly found herself religiously checking her phone after Nicole hadn’t replied to her last message. She was worried how anxious she was to receive a reply back from her, but both were good feelings. Feelings that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time, and certainly never in such full force. Waverly wasn’t sure if the feelings were maybe amplified by her own anxiety about relationships in general - and there she went again. She didn’t want a relationship. Waverly had to remind herself that they were just friends. It was going to be her mantra tonight. Just. Friends.

Her train of thought was derailed by Wynonna sticking her head out of Wynonna’s closet (which was now looking thoroughly defiled by Wynonna’s rigorous searching, leaving neat-freak Waverly slightly peeved) looking incredibly like a victorious gopher. “I found it,” Wynonna sighed, exasperated. “The perfect outfit.”

Waverly gave the look a once-over and immediately shook her head. “Wynonna, no. No, no, and no. Nada.” The clothes that Wynonna had picked out were most definitely impulse buys that Waverly had bought when she felt Champ slipping away at various points in her relationship. Waverly was certainly one to favor crop tops and short-shorts, but this was pushing it. “If I was showing any more skin, I’m pretty sure Nicole would end up arresting me.” Wynonna waggled her eyebrows suggestively, leaving Waverly unimpressed.

“I thought you wanted to end up in cuffs tonight?” Wynonna mocked endearingly. This time, it was Waverly’s turn to lightly punch her sister’s shoulder. “Alright, fine. Here. This one is serious.” She had picked out Waverly’s tightest skinny jeans, which were a dark shade of gray, as well as a bold blue crop top.

“It’s negative 10 outside.” Waverly said rather disappointedly, as she surprisingly actually liked the outfit.

“You have like twenty jackets. Look,” Wynonna picked out the furriest jacket Waverly’s closet had to offer. “You can layer. Or… and I’m only offering this once - you can borrow my leather jacket.” Wynonna said this hesitantly, earning a false exclamation of shock from Waverly.

“Wow! Wynonna, you’re really stepping up here as a sister,” Waverly joked, coaxing a laugh out of her sister. “Seriously, thank you. I know how much you love that jacket, maybe even more than your motorcycle.”

“Yeah. Then on top of all that, there’s you, Waves,” Wynonna held her sister’s hand softly. “Go have fun. I’ll be out with Dolls all night, so don’t worry about coming home at any specific time.” Underneath all their snark and sarcasm, it was clear that they really did love each other, and Waverly hugged her sister happily.

“You have fun too! I want to really meet Dolls this time, by the way,” Waverly added. She hadn’t really remembered their meeting, her thoughts were mostly focused on Nicole. Of course, Waverly neglected to mention this to Wynonna, who would’ve either teased her or turned it into a lecture. Possibly both. Wynonna nodded and promised a meeting soon, then left Waverly’s room to get ready for her own date. Not that Waverly was going on a date or anything; because her and Nicole were Just Friends, and that was all they would be.

Within 30 minutes, Waverly was ready with time to spare. Wynonna, being much quicker and generally just throwing on whatever and looking flawless anyways, had left already. Nicole had just replied, and Waverly was staring at her screen, smiling like a big dumb idiot.

 **(17:03) Waves:**  
Excited to see you again :)

 **(17:41) :) Nicole:**  
I’m excited too!! :)

 **(17:41) :) Nicole:**  
We’ll finally get a chance to talk without a bunch of distractions. :P Kinda difficult to talk to a girl when all she wants is champagne. But I’ve always liked a challenge ;)

For the first time in forever, Waverly didn’t know what to type back. If Wynonna was here, Waverly would be deferring to her to figure out what equally flirty comment to reply with. Now, on her own, Waverly was lost. She just decided to write the first thing that came to mind.

 **(17:41) Waves:**  
Sorry about that, haha. Champagne is sort of my one weakness.

Almost immediately, her phone buzzed back in response.

 **(17:44) :) Nicole:**  
Good to know! Already got a birthday present in mind then :)

Nicole had attached a little birthday present emoji after her message. Waverly didn’t know whether to melt or be turned on or completely back out of the date then and there. Emotions were complicated, and Waverly wasn’t sure if she was ready. But she had already done her makeup, so she couldn’t back out now. Waverly had spent at least 15 minutes getting the perfect winged eyeliner, and she’d be damned if she was going to let that be in vain.

Waverly spent the last twenty minutes she had fixing literally everything she could fix that was under her control before finally leaving the apartment. She needed to plan. Everything. Otherwise, she’d find herself freaking out prematurely, and she wanted to keep calm around Nicole. She already found it hard to stay chill, even before she was around her. Just thinking about her beautiful eyes, and intoxicating smell, and - god. Just Friends. Waverly mentally slapped her own wrist. Nicole had mentioned earlier that she wouldn’t be able to pick Waverly up due to ‘complications’, and hadn’t really gone into much further detail than that just yet, so Waverly had settled on ordering a taxi. Her taxi, which she had of course ordered as soon as Nicole had delivered the news, pulled up in front of her apartment right on time. She figured it would take her around 15 minutes to get to the place, and, seeing as it was currently 6:10, Waverly would be 5 minutes early. _Perfect. Plan it out. Just keep planning, and just stay friends._

\--

It was currently 6:45, and Nicole Haught was late.

In a complete panic, she had managed to: a) knock over her very expensive foundation that managed to splatter all over her bathroom floor, b) then proceed to get that very same foundation on her pants, c) lose her phone - and then her wallet, whilst looking for her phone, and d) curse at a stupid damn letter for what seemed like the fiftieth time that week.

Sara didn’t need to send the letter. It was completely unnecessary. It was a stupid, pointless, dumb, stupid letter that totally didn’t make Nicole feel like shit at all, because Nicole was over her, and Sara could stuff that letter in many places that Nicole would never see again. At first, Nicole’s immediate reaction had been to attempt to rip up the letter, but all that resulted in was the card’s edges being frayed and worn in a matter of seconds. Despite everything, Nicole just couldn’t manage to rip it up. Maybe she wanted it as a sort of ‘fuck you’ to Sara, or maybe she just wasn’t over her yet. No matter what, Nicole hadn’t destroyed the letter, and that made her feel physically ill.

The worst thing was, Nicole realized just as she was doing her makeup that Waverly had probably seen the letter this morning. It was upon this revelation that her foundation had slipped from her hand and mayhem ensued. Nicole wasn’t sure what message the letter would have sent to Waverly - after all, she barely knew her - but she hoped that Waverly didn’t think that Nicole was still in love with Sara. That was far from the truth - she stilled loved Sara, but she wasn’t in love with Sara.

6:50. Nicole was severely late, and despite having sent many texts to Waverly apologizing and somewhat explaining the situation, Nicole was certain that Waverly was pissed off. After all, Nicole would be, if Waverly had invited her out to dinner, and then Nicole travelled about 45 minutes to get there and was on time while Waverly, living 10 minutes away, would be 20 minutes late. A thought suddenly occurred to Nicole as she realized that she probably wouldn’t be that pissed; in fact, she would probably just be so overcome with giddiness that she wouldn’t even care.

 **(18:52) Waverly the cute drunk:**  
Take your time, haha. Don’t knock over any more expensive things - I’ll ask the waiter to keep the champagne in a safe for you!

 **(18:52) Nicole Haught:**  
I’m so so sorry Waverly!! I’m on my way now, promise. Walking out of the front door as we speak (type? text? idk). Yay champagne!!!

Nicole added as many emojis as possible, mostly because she wanted to convey to Waverly how excited she was, but also because they were just so damn cute! Nicole had always been a pretty expressive person, but struggled through text. Now, she didn’t have to worry about sounding sarcastic when she adding all those exclamation points, because she had her lil’ pictures to back her up. She hoped Waverly didn’t find it too weird, since Sara had always found it a little embarrassing.

  
10 minutes later, Nicole had reached the doors of the restaurant and prepared herself for the butterflies in her stomach to get about a hundred times more intense.

\--

Waverly was fidgeting with the ice cubes in her water, swirling them around with her straw as time ticked forward. Nicole was currently late, and as Waverly was earlier than she thought, Waverly had been waiting for a very long time. The butterflies still hadn’t subsided, though, which bothered Waverly to no end. What if she was making a huge mistake being here, and was rushing herself into something she had no business being involved in? Since last night, the only thing going through Waverly’s head was Nicole, Nicole, Nicole. She knew she was just kidding herself by saying that she just wanted to be friends, and yet, she was still here, sitting at this table, nervously picking and fidgeting and fixing every little thing she could find.

Despite every cell in her body wanting to escape and run literally anywhere else, Waverly stayed put, for no reason other than an uncontrollable want to see Nicole. Deep, deep in her stomach, past all of the butterflies and entangled masses of nerves and useless mantras, Waverly desperately wanted Nicole. She could feel it in the way her knuckles were gripping the sides of her glass so hard they were going white. She could feel it in the way her feet seemed absolutely rooted to the restaurant floor, as though Waverly was the immovable object and Nicole was the unstoppable force. And, most importantly, she could feel it in the way her heart skipped a beat when Nicole stepped through the restaurant doors, and Waverly’s breath was stolen in an instant.

Nicole, despite looking somewhat flustered and lost, looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was up in a sort of messy bun that Waverly’s heart just couldn’t stop freaking out over, and her makeup was so simple yet perfect that Waverly couldn’t take her eyes off of her. Nicole’s bottom half was covered in stylish yet perfectly comfy sweatpants, as well as sneakers that fit her overall style. Nicole looked athletic and graceful, and Waverly was now kicking herself for wearing something that she clearly was not comfortable in, but was wearing in order to impress Nicole. She realized now that wearing what she wanted would probably impress Nicole more than wearing something Nicole wanted.

Nicole spotted Waverly, and Waverly could feel her smile growing as Nicole’s face instantly lit up and flashed a toothy smile towards her.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about the wait, all sorts of crazy shit happened,” Nicole apologized, and unlike Champ’s apologies, Waverly could tell that they were authentic and that Nicole was genuinely sorry rather than wanting Waverly off of her back.

“Oh, don’t worry, honestly - the fact that you’re here now is all that matters,” Waverly replied before laughing softly. “By the way, you’re either one of the unluckiest people I know or one of the clumsiest.” Nicole placed one hand over her face and groaned, eliciting a giggle out of Waverly.

“God, don’t even get me started - thank you - I feel like everything that could have gone wrong went wrong,” Nicole paused mid-sentence to smile and thank the waiter for handing her a menu, before carrying on with her story. Waverly couldn’t help but be attracted to her even more for that. “So you know about the foundation already, but what you don’t know is that I had to change my outfit because of it. Seriously, my whole outfit.”

Waverly laughed and shook her head. “So that’s why you look like you’re about to kick my ass at soccer,” She replied, noting Nicole’s attire.

“First off, I probably could, and second, don’t hate on the wardrobe!” Nicole joked. “Besides, I tried, okay? It’s not easy for the rest of us to look as beautiful as you.”

Waverly couldn’t help herself from smiling. In fact, she had been smiling uncontrollably the moment Nicole stepped in, and her face was starting to hurt. “Well, you’re making a pretty damn good case for it. You look stunning, and I honestly do like your outfit.” Waverly tried to stop herself from flirting, but it was just so hard. Nicole mumbled something under her breath that Waverly couldn’t quite catch, before blushing hard and taking a sip of water quickly.

“Nothing,” Nicole uttered quickly before Waverly could ask. “I said nothing.”

“What? Tell me,” Waverly urged, intensely curious about what could make such a confident woman become so embarrassed. Nicole shook her head exaggeratedly. “Tell me, and I’ll tell you something embarrassing about myself.”

“You first,” Nicole retorted, making Waverly pout. “Deal or no deal!” Waverly laughed, her eyes widening.

“Okay. God, I can’t believe I’m about to tell you this. Alright, just promise me you won’t bring it up in the future?” Waverly pleaded.

“Fine, Waverly, I won’t bring this up on our fifth date. Is that alright with you?” Nicole asked. The corner of her mouth turned up in a triumphant smirk as Waverly looked surprised.

“That’s great with me, Nicole, as long as you don’t talk about it at our wedding. How’s that?” Waverly retorted, attempting to out-do Nicole’s attempt at flustering her. Nicole simply nodded, looked down at her glass, and seemed slightly uncomfortable, before a thick swallow returned her smile.

“Sounds perfect, Waves. Now, tell me the story,” Nicole replied, a little softer this time. Waverly wanted to probe deeper but figured it was probably best if she left that elephant alone for now.

“Ok, well. Alright. So, you know how in elementary school, in every class there was that girl who really seemed to connect with horses? Like, really, really connect with them. Almost obsessively?” Waverly began slowly, unsure if she really wanted to tell this story to Nicole. Nicole snorted and nodded. “Ok, yeah, that was me. I was the horse girl. I had horse binders and horse notebooks and horse pencil cases and everything. I think I saw Seabiscuit about 10 times in one day, once. I was seriously - stop laughing - I was seriously obsessed, Nicole.”

“Did you ever even own a horse?” Nicole managed to sputter out between fits of laughter. Waverly started laughing, too, so hard that tears came out of her eyes, before she could manage to reply with a wheezed ‘no’. They sat like that until a waiter came along and they had to be adults for a few minutes before returning back to their conversation.

“Okay, now, tell me what you said!” Waverly demanded playfully, eliciting a shrug from Nicole.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Seabiscuit,” Nicole replied with a blank face. Waverly flashed her a serious look that honestly both scared and turned on Nicole, so she decided to tell Waverly the truth before any serious harm came to Nicole. “Alright, fine, so, you said that you liked my outfit, right?”

“Yes, and I do,” Waverly smiled.

“And you want to know what I said after that?” Nicole teased. Waverly noticed hints of a blush creeping onto Nicole’s cheeks.

“Nicole, spit it out,” Waverly warned.

“Fine, fine, but I’m just going to remind you that you wanted to hear it,” Nicole was fully blushing now, and Waverly was on the edge of her seat. “I said, ‘I’m pretty sure you’d like it better on the floor.’”

Waverly could feel heat rush to her core, as well as on her face, and Nicole’s embarrassed expression turned to confidence as she saw Waverly’s unexpected reaction.

“Hey, you wanted to know,” Nicole teased through her smirk, which only served to twist the knot in Waverly’s core even further. “I didn’t want to say it because I didn’t know how it would go over, but clearly you’re-”

“I think I would,” Waverly cut Nicole off, unable to bear any more teasing. A very small corner of Waverly’s mind, a corner that had once dominated her thoughts, had been pushed back and herded into a pathetic mess. Just Friends had turned into a completely unrealistic idea. Now, all that Waverly could think about was the craving, the tight knot of want and desire in her stomach that pulled Waverly towards Nicole. “Like it better on the floor, I mean.”

Waverly expected Nicole to be flustered like Waverly, but Nicole clearly was having none of it. “I think you would too,” Nicole responded huskily, her voice suddenly being injected with palpable lust, and Waverly’s knuckles were once again wrapped white around her glass.

Waverly had no idea how she was going to get through this dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my lovely girlfriend for betaing this fic. also I'm really bad at updating sorry

Waverly cursed herself for agreeing to work today.

One, she had class tomorrow. Two, Nicole was currently driving her crazy with pointed looks and ‘accidental’ grazes under the table that were progressively moving higher and higher up Waverly’s thigh. Three, Waverly had had three glasses of champagne, and needed so many more.

“Interning is great, don’t get me wrong, but there’s only so many times I can be referred to as ‘the disposable pair of tits’ before it gets pretty tiring,” Nicole rolled her eyes. Waverly brushed her fingers over Nicole’s in a show of sympathy. Nicole quickly glanced at her hand and smiled before returning her gaze to Waverly’s hazel eyes. “I’m pretty excited about my new job, though. It’s-”

Before Nicole could finish, their waiter had arrived with dessert menus. “Would you ladies care for dessert? We have an excellent lava cake special tonight. Or, perhaps, coffee?”

“Could I have an espresso please?” Waverly asked. The waiter nodded and turned to Nicole, who simply shook her head. He took their plates, and left with their menus. “I still have to work tonight.”

“Ah, that sucks. I forgot about that.” Nicole sounded disappointed, but shrugged her shoulders. “I have to get up early for work tomorrow, anyway.”

“Interning?” Waverly asked.

“No, my new job. Like I said, it’s pretty exciting, but I have to get up pretty early,” Nicole sighed. She was definitely not a morning person. “I mean, it’s probably not exciting to most people, but I think it’s pretty fun.”

“What’s the job, exactly?” Waverly asked, before gasping loudly and covering her face with her hands. “Shit, I also have to get up early! I have class tomorrow.” Waverly mentally cursed her poverty-stricken self for needing to take extra shifts without thinking.

“I can talk to Shorty, if you want,” Nicole suggested. “I could, like, wave my badge, or something. Say it’s a police emergency?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, but thanks,” Waverly laughed softly, but groaned shortly afterwards. “I have to do it, I need the money.” Nicole shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not really knowing the feeling that Waverly was going through. She certainly didn’t want to offer her money, since that would definitely make Waverly feel like shit, but she didn’t want to sit around and do nothing.

“I wish I could help,” Nicole said, her voice filled with concern. “Just call me and I’ll come with coffee or whatever, you name it.” Nicole smiled at Waverly, debating whether or not to take her hand that was lying so temptingly on the table.

“You don’t need to do that,” Waverly’s voice suddenly dropped in volume in sheer awe of how kind Nicole was. In all the time that Waverly had dated Champ, he had never offered to do anything as nice as that. The nicest thing Waverly could recall was Champ buying Waverly some lingerie for her birthday. To his credit, it was nice lingerie, but Waverly had been less than enthused at the time.

“Hey, I’m the one who asked you out to dinner,” Nicole replied, her hands raising in protest. “It’s only fair that I help keep you up. I mean, you could’ve been sleeping right now.”

“True. Let’s just hope I don’t fall asleep in class tomorrow, eh?” Waverly joked, but there was a sense of worry behind her words, as if she really thought she might fall asleep in class. Waverly had never, ever, _ever_ fallen asleep in class. Not even in senior year when Champ had dragged her out to parties despite the massive amount of AP coursework she needed to finish, and she had stayed up all night to do so. But now, with all the stress of university and work and dating, Waverly wasn’t sure if she had it in her to work. She just had to pray for a miracle, which was quickly assuming the form of an incredibly attractive redhead.

Nicole laughed softly, her hand brushing through her hair and quickly pulling her hair up into a bun. The waiter arrived shortly after with an espresso for Waverly, who barely noticed, her eyes fixated on Nicole’s confident movements working her soft locks of hair. Nicole, noticing Waverly’s expression, cocked an eyebrow and gestured with her head to the espresso sitting in front of Waverly.

“You gonna drink that, or am I good enough to wake you up?”

Waverly felt heat creep onto her cheeks, her mouth scrunching up into an embarrassed smile, before sipping her espresso hurriedly. She probably should have realized that the wafts of vapour lifting off of the drink indicated that it was very hot, but in her discomposure, she managed to burn her top lip and tongue.

“Hot,” Waverly started, before breathing in and out rapidly in an attempt to quell the burn spreading over her tongue. “Fuck - hot, shit,” Nicole grabbed a glass of water and handed it to Waverly, who drank it quickly, thankful for the relief.

“I’m so sorry,” Nicole blurted out, her face wracked with guilt. Her hands were wringing each other softly underneath the table. “I didn’t - I was just flirting, I didn’t mean drink it now,”

“Nicole, don’t worry, that was completely my fault,” Waverly replied. It had been 100% her fault. She watched as Nicole’s face brightened as if a century’s worth of shame had been lifted from her shoulders. “I guess pretty girls and hot drinks together are ill-advised around me.”

“Tell you what, I’ll pay for dinner,” Nicole offered. Clearly, Waverly’s flirting was having an effect. “It’s the least I can do. Plus, you have to work, and I’m the one who asked you out.”  
Waverly considered denying the request, before thinking about it. She had seen the prices on the menu. This place wasn’t cheap, and Waverly didn’t exactly have the money to throw around on steak tartare. On the other hand, from what she had seen, Nicole definitely did, but Waverly didn’t want to set a precedent on their relationship that Nicole would pay for everything. Not that they had a relationship - they were just going on dates. Just Dating.

Because since ‘Just Friends’ worked out so well, ‘Just Dating’ would work even better.

“Alright then,” Waverly nodded. “You pay. But next time, I’ll take you out, and I’ll pay.” Nicole raised her hand to the waiter before making a motion that looked like signing a check.

“Next time?” Nicole asked playfully. The stolen glances and playing footsie and inappropriate remarks had definitely led Waverly to believe that there was going to be a next time.

“Of course,” Waverly played along. “I’m a catch. You’d be crazy not to want a next time.” In an uncharacteristic display of confidence, Waverly had managed to make Nicole’s eyes flutter.

“Lucky for you, I’m not crazy,” Nicole replied, and there it was again - that lust, that incredibly shameless sense of thirst permeated through every syllable that escaped Nicole’s lips. And Waverly wanted more.

The waiter, completely oblivious to the eye-fucking occurring at their table, set down the bill lightly in front of Nicole. “If there’s anything else, just let me know,” He replied with a wink. Confusion spread across Nicole’s face like a wildfire.

On top of the bill was a number quickly scrawled out in blue ink. Nicole’s eyes widened before scoffing loudly; so loud that the waiter (who was now several paces away) jumped slightly and turned his head. He kept walking, a little faster, and a lot more dejected.

“I gotta say, that’s probably the most heteronormative bullshit I’ve experienced in a long time,” Nicole shook her head in disbelief. “I mean, we’re practically having sex on the table, and he still has no clue.” Waverly laughed and took Nicole’s hand.

“You’re just such a good gal pal, that’s all,” Waverly replied, and they unlinked hands for a brief moment to gather their things and walk out. Waverly quickly found Nicole’s hand again as they left, prompting a look of intrigue from Nicole, but she said nothing. The cold night air blasted Waverly’s figure harshly, leaving tints of red smattered across her cheeks, causing her to shiver underneath the oppressive winter.

Nicole, who was significantly warmer than Waverly, pulled her in lightly towards her, embracing her with care. Waverly looked up at Nicole, trying to memorize every detail of her face, her eyes running over the plump of Nicole’s lips, the sweeping hollows of her cheeks, the striking dimples that formed when Waverly smiled up at her; and suddenly Waverly was filled with warmth.

“So, I’ve got to head home and get ready for work,” Waverly started, as if all of a sudden she was very aware of the distance between them, or lack thereof. She made no effort to push away from her, but she felt incredibly reminded of the fact that just a few months ago this was Champ, and in just a few months Nicole could hurt Waverly in exactly the same way. Waverly felt strange upon the realization that being hurt by Nicole would cut a thousand times deeper. Nicole loosened her grasp upon Waverly, her arms spreading out wider, allowing the smaller brunette to leave a few inches between them.

“I can drive you, if you’d like,” Nicole suggested, her voice soft and sweet, and Waverly panicked. If Nicole drove her, she knew that there’d be no way she could stop herself from grabbing Nicole then and kissing her, straddling her lap and abandoning her doubts. She couldn’t do that. Every kiss would leave her swollen and bruised, reopening wounds that had just started to close, and she wasn’t ready.

“I can take a cab,” Waverly replied, a little too quickly. She watched as Nicole’s face fell, her dimples vanishing, her eyes fluttering in a way that Waverly knew meant disappointment. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to see you, it’s just-”

“I get it, Waverly, I was too forward,” Nicole responded. Her voice was still soft, still sweet, but there was a bitter taste of rejection laced within each word. “I’m sorry. Just let me know when you want that second date.” Nicole leaned in to kiss Waverly on the cheek. The kiss was chaste, full of respect, and Waverly couldn’t bear it. Nicole turned away, walking down the street slowly, as if waiting for Waverly to call her back.

Waverly did.

“Wait - Nicole!” Waverly called out. Nicole stopped and turned on her heel, not knowing what to expect. “I was cheated on. It sucked. I’m still reeling and I feel like I’m scaling a mountain and I can’t get my footing. Like I can’t catch a break.”

“I - I had no idea,” Nicole shook her head slowly. “I’m so sorry.” She took Waverly’s hand apprehensively, who gratefully linked her fingers with Nicole’s.

“It was months ago. I still see him every other week in Uni. I still find shit around my apartment that belongs to him,” Waverly continued. “I’m just - it’s taking longer than I thought it would. I mean, we dated for years, but I don’t think I really loved him. It’s confusing.”

Nicole nodded as if she understood. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” She asked, not meaning to be accusatory, but instead inquisitive. Waverly laughed softly.

“I met you only a few days ago. I didn’t want to scare you off,” Waverly answered.

“You couldn’t scare me off if you tried,” Nicole retorted, eliciting another, happier laugh out of Waverly.

“Really? I don’t back down easily from challenges, you know,” Waverly joked, her thumb rubbing over Nicole’s, slowly aware that the space between them had closed in the last few seconds. Her tongue ran over her own lips, in part to soothe the burn that had started to throb, and Waverly could feel tears she didn’t know she had shed begin to cool on her cheeks.

“I’ve seen _‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’_. I think it’s better suited to the screen,” Nicole countered. She reached over to wipe a tear from the corner of Waverly’s lip, where a few tears had trickled down and settled. A moment of silence fell, and even though the street beside them was bustling with people, they felt like the only two on the Earth. “I promise I’ll take it slow. You don’t have to worry.”

Waverly nodded, and even though she wanted to lean over and kiss Nicole like she was poisoned and Nicole’s lips were the antidote, she couldn’t. A voice in the back of her head convinced her that there would be plenty of time. Nicole would wait for her. Waverly would wait until she was ready.

“Okay, now I really have to get home,” Waverly buried her head in Nicole’s shoulder and huffed. A cloud of mist was expelled from her mouth. “Thank you, though. Really.”

Nicole shrugged before leaning down to kiss the top of Waverly’s head. “No problem,” Nicole started. “After all, what are gal pals for?” She could feel the subtle shaking of Waverly’s laughter roll through her body, before Waverly pulled away.

They said goodbye quickly, and Nicole hailed down a cab for Waverly, embracing her before she climbed in and set off to work. Waverly pulled out her phone to text Nicole, before noticing a text already waiting for her.

**(21:46) :) Nicole:**  
Can’t wait for next time :) x

Waverly smiled before writing her reply.

**(21:49) Waves:**  
It’s a date :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops lol 3 months went by ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> truly sorry from the bottom of my big gay heart - uni is very stressful and I don't have much time for writing. nevertheless, I present to you: gay drama

Waverly woke up with a throbbing headache, a hatred for all things bright, and an overpowering sense that today probably wouldn’t be one of her best. Her shift at Shorty’s last night had lasted until three in the morning, and the entire time all she could think about was how dead she would be in the morning, which didn’t exactly make for a very stress-free night.

On top of that, the tips sucked.

She quickly became anxious about everything listed above, and the cherry on top was that her anxiety about Nicole was all but forgotten. Despite the fact that they had talked it through, Waverly still felt like there was so much they still needed to talk about. So, with Shorty’s go-ahead (‘Look around, Waverly. You’re the most sober person in here by about a bottle of Jack.’), Waverly started drinking.

It started slowly, with a small glass of red at around one in the morning, and by the end of her shift, Shorty’s looked a lot more spinny than she remembered. Shorty had taken her home, dropping her off at her doorstep with a mini-lecture and a kiss on the head, before she rode the elevator up to her apartment. The entire ride, all she could think about was Nicole, how if she were here now, the circumstances would’ve been completely different. Waverly wouldn’t have been able to control herself. She would’ve pushed Nicole into that corner there, she thought, and kissed her until the alcohol left her system and she was just drunk off of Nicole.

But Nicole wasn’t there, and all Waverly could do was drunkenly pine over something that was her fault she couldn’t have.

“Dear God, you look like hell,” Wynonna mumbled from just outside the kitchen, rubbing her eyes to rid them of sleep. Waverly realized that while lost in her thoughts, she had meandered over from her bed to the kitchen, standing over a brewing pot of coffee, staring at nothing in particular.

“I feel worse,” Waverly groaned, her voice hoarse and feeling what seemed like two octaves lower than she was used to. “Coffee?”

“Please,” Wynonna answered groggily. “Rough night?”

“Yep,” Waverly sighed, watching the red indicator on the coffee pot slowly dim, wondering how she would make it through the day. She concluded that a miracle would need to occur for her to summon the willpower to make it to her second class. “You?”

“You could say that,” Wynonna answered sheepishly, taking the cup of coffee from Waverly without another word, before Dolls padded through the kitchen and stole it. “Hey!”

“Hey yourself,” Dolls replied, kissing Wynonna on the neck before being somewhat violently shrugged off. He muttered an apology to Wynonna before sipping the coffee, clearly not sorry. Waverly could feel her lips drag up in a lazy smile before yawning loudly and pouring another cup of coffee for Wynonna before filling a thermos for herself.

“I’m gonna head out soon, I have class,” Waverly spoke to Wynonna, who was very unsubtle in her ogling of her boyfriend in front of her. He was gearing up for a run, so his muscles were on full display in tight clothing.

“Debatable,” Wynonna replied, not bothering to look over at her sister, slumping down on the couch where Dolls was lacing up a pair of running shoes. She leant over to kiss him on the cheek. Waverly was too tired to care about their PDA, and asking Wynonna to tone it down would last for maybe a week. Plus, in the future, Waverly could hold it over Wynonna’s head when she wanted to be cute with Nicole.

If. If she wanted to be cute with Nicole.

“Ha, ha,” Waverly deadpanned, heading into the bathroom to take a shower. Once that was done, both Wynonna and Dolls had left. She briefly considered the thought that Wynonna had joined him on his run, before snorting at the mere suggestion. She ambled into her room and threw on whatever was clean and warm. She didn’t bother with makeup. The worst person she could see today was Champ, so who cared if she looked like shit. What mattered was that this day was as low-maintenance as possible so that Waverly’s brain didn’t shut off from exhaustion.

Eyeing her phone, the time read 7:37. Waverly had around twenty minutes to get to class. Perfect, she thought, if I leave now and don’t have any distractions then I’ll be right on time.

Waverly walked through the streets of Toronto (she opted to walk instead of bike, she didn’t trust her hungover instincts to weave through the mess that was early morning Monday traffic) to her campus at Purgatory U. The university was certainly different in its name, but the education was fantastic and the tuition was low enough to justify Waverly’s enrollment. In the past, she considered the library a second home. Since Champ never set foot in there, it provided her a necessary distraction from him when they were dating. But of course in an unfortunate twist of fate his new girlfriend would also spend time in the library, and Champ would go in for her.

Maybe it was her hangover, but the twist of fate felt very much like a knife twisting in her stomach.

Waverly slapped her cheeks. Snap out of it, she thought. You’re better than that. She rounded the corner into the slate gray building looming overhead, the architecture of the building modern with its sharp edges and hardness; all stone and glass. Waverly found she preferred that to the stateliness of the older universities she had visited. She was a city girl in her heart, after all.

She took her seat somewhere in the middle of the lecture hall. Under normal circumstances, she would sit right up at the front, but if she fell asleep she didn’t want to face the embarrassment of her professor knowing. Waverly had been, thus far, an exemplary student, and if she couldn’t keep her streak going, at least she could keep up an illusion. She was greeted by a few of her fellow students that she had met sometime or another, and she could muster the strength to give them a half-hearted smile and a wave. The cold air hadn’t done much to wake her up, it had only served to somewhat dull her headache and redden her cheeks.

“Good morning everyone,” The professor drawled, and in response she received an unenthusiastic amalgamation of noises from the bleary-eyed students in front of her. “Fantastic, I love the energy. Before we start, I do have a small announcement to make…”

Waverly could feel her eyes shutting. The lecture hall was warm, so warm, and if Waverly let her eyes shut, who would know? She would just fall asleep for a few seconds.

“...will not be returning, but we do have a replacement for her: Nicole Haught.”

Waverly’s eyes shot open. Immediately, she scanned the stage for her new TA. There, in the corner. Nicole was standing off to the side, clearly nervous with the circumstances, but still flashed a brilliant smile to the class. Waverly swore she could feel her heart stop.

Nicole’s eyes locked with Waverly’s. Brief surprise flashed over Nicole’s face, her eyebrow quirking and her mouth opening slightly, before Nicole composed herself and scanned over the rest of the classroom as if nothing had happened. Waverly felt conflicted. Nicole’s reaction certainly hadn’t been what she had expected - though, now that she thought about it, Waverly didn’t know what she had been expecting in the first place.

Waverly’s professor started with the lecture. Despite the very good-looking distraction, who she was trying her best not to stare at, Waverly felt a newfound focus burn through her veins. Her eyes were trained directly at the slides presented in front of her. She would not look at or think about Nicole. She would not look at her phone, which just buzzed in her pocket. She would not open the text message that she could see was from Nicole. She would not reply to Nicole’s text message, asking her to meet her outside.

She watched as Nicole said something indistinct into her professor’s ear before heading for the door. Nicole quickly flashed an indescribable look to Waverly before stepping out of the room and closing the heavy blue door behind her.

Waverly felt conflicted. On the one hand, her interest was piqued, and she wanted to know what was so important. On the other hand, Waverly looked like shit, and really needed to focus on the class.

She thought about this hard. She really did. She thought about it as she walked out of the door closest to her, heading down the steps to find Nicole, who was pacing back and forth in front of the stairs.

“Good, you came,” Nicole breathed out in what seemed to be relief. “Okay, this isn’t easy for me to say, but, we can’t date anymore.”

A pause, then silence, broken only by Waverly’s sharp intake of breath.

“I - what - I don’t understand,” Waverly couldn’t find the words to eloquently voice her thoughts fast enough. “Is this because of what I said last night?”

“No - God, no,” Nicole took Waverly’s hands in hers, her thumbs rubbing over Waverly’s knuckles. “This morning, I had to sit through a forty-five minute long lecture about how TAs aren’t allowed to date students. I could get fired. I probably would get fired. I just started here, and I have another job already, so, y’know. I’m a pretty likely candidate.”

“Well, fine, but that’s not exactly fair to me,” Waverly snapped, aware of how childish she sounded, but she didn’t care. She was too tired and too taken aback to think before she spoke. “It’s not like I can just turn off liking you.”

“Well, I can’t either, Waves,” Nicole replied awkwardly in response, knowing that while the situation wasn’t really her fault, she still felt guilty. “But maybe, for a while, we might have to.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Maybe so, but it’s true bullshit.” Nicole made sure her voice stayed calm. Waverly had the right to be angry. Nicole wasn’t exactly happy with the situation herself. “If you don’t have anything else to say, I should probably head back.”

Waverly felt a strange mix of emotions settling like a weight in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was the dangerous amounts of coffee coursing through Waverly’s system, or the fact that Nicole’s ability to stay calm despite her inner turmoil was attracting Waverly even more, or maybe it was the fact that underneath all those emotions, Waverly was rudely confronted by the overwhelming urge to not let Nicole go. So Waverly stepped forward, and, balancing on the tips of her toes, pressed her lips to Nicole’s.

Nicole’s eyes fluttered shut in response. Her arms deftly wrapped around Waverly in an attempt to steady her. Waverly could feel Nicole’s arms tightening around her waist, her hands clenching when Waverly ran a tongue over Nicole’s lips. Waverly’s arms reached up tentatively, hands running up the back of Nicole’s neck, thumbs brushing over her cheekbones.

Waverly was delightfully pleased to find that Nicole’s lips were as soft as they looked. She melted into them like the world melted away the more they kissed. She was aware of everything Nicole - the smell of her shampoo, her perfume, the way her mouth tasted (like coffee and mint and something indescribably Nicole), the way her muscles relaxed and tightened under her touch every time Waverly pushed a bit harder into the kiss or when her teeth brushed against her lips in a clumsy but almost deliberate way. Waverly felt the anxiety and worries she had felt the night before wash away, replaced instead by nervous excitement and curiosity.

Nicole was the first to pull away, regretting it immediately, but they still had to talk. The issue wasn’t going to be solved by Earth-shatteringly good kisses.

“Well said,” Nicole laughed, and Waverly pressed her forehead into the nape of Nicole’s neck, settling there in a combination of exhaustion and post-kiss bliss. One of Nicole’s hands reached up to caress the back of Waverly’s head, while the other pulled Waverly in tighter. “What do we do now?”

“I have a few ideas,” Waverly murmured, pressing her lips to Nicole’s neck, relishing in the way that the tendons in Nicole’s neck tightened as she moved closer to her ear.

“As much as I’d love to hear them,” Nicole said (her voice now a little higher and breathier) while reluctantly pulling away from the kisses and putting distance between the two, “this is serious. I can’t lose this job, because if I do… it’s complicated, but I just can’t, okay?”

“Okay,” Waverly nodded, a lump rising in her throat. “And I can’t drop out or anything, so, what - we just carry on like normal? Like nothing ever happened?”

“I don’t want to,” Nicole admitted, her voice soft and sweet. She bit her lip, as if trying to think of what to say, before opening her mouth to speak. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but I want this. I was hurt, really badly, and I didn’t think I could ever get over her. But you - you changed that for me, and I can’t just let something like that go. Do you understand?”

Waverly kissed her in response, feeling Nicole’s lips stretch out in a smile against her own, before Nicole pulled away again laughing.

“Okay, as good as that is, we can’t just keep kissing when we need to be talking,” Nicole joked, ignoring her own advice when she leant down to kiss Waverly quickly. She could feel Waverly laughing into the kiss, something that made Nicole’s heart skip a beat and curl her toes. They pulled away and placed their foreheads together. “Okay, Earp. Game plan.”

“I guess no PDA in school. We’ll just be dating outside of it. If anyone asks, we were dating before you became a TA - maybe they’ll allow it, or maybe we can stall long enough for you to inevitably charm them into loving you.” Waverly proposed, not paying much attention to her words. “Then they’ll have to keep hiring you.”

“Inevitably, huh?” Nicole kissed Waverly’s cheek. “Do I make it that easy?”

“I guess we’ll see,” Waverly smiled, before lightly pushing Nicole away. “We really should get back, though. Soon enough, all the students are going to wonder where the hot new TA went.”

“You’re right,” Nicole replied. “I guess I’ll see you in class.”

They kissed again, far too quickly for Waverly’s liking, before Nicole reentered the lecture hall and Waverly climbed up the steps, finding her seat and acting as casually as possible.

It was hard, though, when the girl she was one kiss away from dragging into the bathroom and doing things that _really_ should not be done in a place of education was giving her coy looks from her spot on the stage. It didn’t help that her peers were oblivious to the looks, too focused on the professor to pay attention.

Waverly’s phone buzzed again in her pocket.

**(08:25) :) Nicole:**  
Just so you know, I really want to go over those ideas at some point ;)


End file.
